Leafs' minor league affiliate shuts down mid-season due to financial woes
The Newfoundland Growlers, the ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, appear to have closed up shop midseason.
As per Montreal-based writer Maxime Truman, the Growlers have indicated to other teams around the ECHL that their players will become free agents later today, with some players possibly joining the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs’ American Hockey League affiliate, if they’re on an AHL contract.
SCOOP! Les Growlers de Terre-Neuve ont indiqué aux autres équipes de la ECHL que leurs joueurs deviendront libres tantôt. #LaFin
EXCLUSIVE! The @NLGrowlers have indicated to other ECHL teams that their players will become free agent later today. #TheEnd#Lions #OnAttendEncore
— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) April 2, 2024
The Growlers are owned by Deacon Investments limited, a privately owned residential and commercial property management company based in St. John’s.
Dean MacDonald, chair of Deacon Sports and Entertainment, officially confirmed the news on a local radio station, VOCM’s Tim Powers Show.
A report from Matthew Vachon of Le Nouvelliste surfaced last week that the Growlers were in financial troubles, as were the Trois-Rivieres Lions, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, who are also owned by Deacon Investments. And while the Lions appear to be continuing their season, the Growlers are set to be pulling the plug with just six games left on their regular season schedule.
MacDonald had plans to potentially sell both teams to Steve Leal, owner of Canadian multinational Fix Auto, but they fell through.
“Basically, we presented a proposal to the league and we’re disappointed… we’re out. Disappointing… I went to the league, and went to the city, and said ‘I’m getting out of the business,'” MacDonald said on the radio today.
MacDonald also added that the ECHL Board of Directors didn’t seem too interested in keeping a team in Newfoundland at this point in time.
“The league today said, ‘Newfoundland’s out.’ Is that because that we’re so far away and people don’t want to travel?… Once we had the Leal deal signed, we couldn’t talk to anybody else. We had lots of people approaching us [to buy the team], but we couldn’t talk to anybody,” MacDonald added.
“We are saddened to lose ECHL hockey in the Newfoundland market,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin in a statement. “We’d like to thank the Growlers fans and partners for their support of the team throughout their existence, and are hopeful that hockey can return to the region for their dedicated and passionate fanbase.”
The Growlers were founded as an expansion franchise back in 2018, and found immediate success. In their first season in the third-tier league, the team won the Kelly Cup as ECHL champions in 2019.
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